


our lady of the underground

by racheltuckerrr



Series: that was in another world [2]
Category: Hadestown - Mitchell, Sweeney Todd (2007)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Extremely Affectionate Murder Couple, F/M, Happy Murder Family, Non-Graphic Violence, doing a "lets try to include all the workers" challenge I made up myself so expect some cameos, you can pry Lady Persephone's Pomegranate Parlor out of my cold dead hands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-11
Updated: 2019-08-16
Packaged: 2020-06-25 22:45:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 17,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19755280
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/racheltuckerrr/pseuds/racheltuckerrr
Summary: “The history of the world my love, is those below serving those up above. How gratifying for once to know, that those above will serve those down below!”aka the persephone lovett au you've all been waiting for





	1. god, that's good!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> eternal thanks to my beta and good friend who convinced me that this idea was worth writing a multichapter for! and for being a goldmine of helpful suggestions in general. mwah x

Mr. Hermes was a simple man. A clockmaker, like his father before him, and his father before that; a family business if you will. 

He had a little shop on a particularly busy street for the northeast corner of Londontown, and business was good enough to feed himself if not much more. He'd lived loud and expensive-like in his day, but those times were well and truly behind him. He had a place to rest his head, just up the stairs from his shop, and he didn't need more than that.

But he'd been around this particular neighborhood for a while now, soon approaching the double digit years. He knew every single person on his street or at least knew about them. Ain't nothing happened around here that got by him.

Hence when a good lady and her husband purchased the long-abandoned empty storefront on the other side of the street, just opposite his place a couple months back, it caught his attention.

Now, Mr. Hermes had yet to try them himself, but the word on the street was that the lady made the best pomegranate jam pie in all of Londontown, and her reputation was one of no contest. 

He only talked to them a couple times in passing while they were still renovating the space and he happened to walk by on his way back from his morning newspaper round; stopping in front of the glass window of their building briefly, usually to witness the lady in constant motion, pointing and plotting and planning how to decorate the interior with her husband solemnly following her every command as he screwed and hammered and painted and moved everything to the letter of her word. 

It was a bit comical to the outsider, how a man of the mister's stature and commanding physique bent like a grain of fine wheat in a summer breeze to the whims of his wife's wishes, but they seemed decent enough folk and Mr. Hermes was glad for their remarkable success. Meant more business coming thru his street at any rate.

So when a young couple came into his shop one afternoon - a boy with an old guitar slung over his shoulder with a raven-haired girl in slightly worn clothes and sturdy black boots on his arm - looking for a quick fix of an old stopwatch and a recommendation for a good place to dine, he immediately pointed them across the street to Lady Persephone’s. 

The girl smiled politely, thanked him and wandered off around his shop, admiring the shelves full of his inventions and ongoing repair projects; handmade antique clocks, small watches with missing gears or all other sorts of machinery, even an hourglass with fine-grained sand running through it to tell the time. All manner of colorful trinkets that he liked to tinker on when he had no other company, which was most of the time.

The boy stayed and they talked a bit while he worked, not in the nervous, small talk kinda manner only to fill the silence, but quietly in low voices, absorbed, attentive and unhurried. The two of them were in from out of town, on a sort of honeymoon trip, the boy told Mr. Hermes. They hadn't married yet, didn't have enough money, and what they had they rather spent on seeing a bit more of the world first. He certainly couldn't blame them.

"You seem good people son,” he told the boy after handing his watch back to him as he put the coins in a box inside his desk’s top drawer. Orpheus, was his name, told him to keep the change. “Honest, hard-working, decent."

"I should hope so sir, Mr. Hermes," Orpheus replied with an earnest face and eyes that had seen no wrong. He was young still, life had been kind to him.

Mr. Hermes nodded. "Then I wish you a pleasant meal and a good evening.” He tipped his head toward the almost-wife as well. “Take care, young lady."

* * *

“Lady Persephone’s Pomegranate Parlor? _Really_?” 

“Oh, come on, I like it! I think it’s original.”

Eurydice wrinkled her nose at her lover as she and Orpheus walked into the rustic looking brick storefront just as a little girl was walking out on her mother’s arm, enthusiastically chittering about the food they’d just had. She made eye contact with Eurydice, just as she stepped through the door, jingling the bell over their heads beneath the wooden frame.

“These are probably the best pies in London!” she squealed excitedly, smiling wide at the black-haired young woman, and Eurydice couldn’t help but smile too as she watched her go. That sounded promising enough, and she was _hungry_.

Stepping into Lady Persephone's was like opening a door to a different universe. The interior was clearly newly remodeled, but the only signs that gave away the diner's freshly inaugurated state were the empty flower pots on the walls that must have just been put up and one or two electrical wires hanging loosely from the ceiling that nobody had bothered covering up yet. Or maybe that was a purposeful design choice and it was part of the decor, it was hard to tell. 

Other than that, it seemed to be painstakingly planned to the smallest detail, from the small statues and artworks on every available surface, to the potted plants of varying shapes and sizes that populated the corners and windowsills, and Eurydice would have suspected a woman's touch even if the name of the place in itself hadn’t already been a big giveaway. The walls, however, were painted a calm steel blue that seemed to contradict said feminine touch, but the soft glow emanating from the naked bulbs strategically arranged and hanging from the open space above the wooden tables was, if not entirely natural, a nice counter-effect to the darkness of the grayish blue color.

All in all, the vision was pretty damn impressive, and the young lovers looked at each other in awe as they stood there for a few moments just taking it all in, before a strikingly tall waiter greeted them and led them to one of the only empty tables, offering them each a menu.

"Orpheus," Eurydice whispered to her fiance over the menu in her hand once the waiter was gone. “Can we afford this?”

"I-" he stammered as he opened his own and glanced at the options thoughtfully. "The pies look nice, and they seem to have decent prices for the most part...maybe we could share one?"

Eurydice was about to argue when a woman appeared in front of their table, seemingly out of nowhere, and cleared her throat in such a ceremonial manner as if she was gearing up to sing a melody. 

She had lush brown hair draped over one side of her neck that cascaded down her shoulder in perfect curls. She was wearing an intricate dress of black lace, woven in delicate patterns around her hip as it flared out below, ending in a corset at the top with a very impressive cleavage, covered only by a double string of black pearls. She was also wearing the same smirk that was plastered on the cover of the menu in Eurydice's hand.

"I couldn't help but overhear your dilemma," the woman confided to them in an elaborate stage whisper, her voice like dripping honey. "Suppose it's just me gentle heart, but I do hate to see a young couple like yourselves want for anything while you're under my roof."

Eurydice caught Orpheus' eye and saw her own cautious curiosity reflected in his gaze. They seemed to realize at the same time that the woman standing in front of them was Lady Persephone herself, in the flesh.

"Tell you what: you pick a pie like you were plannin' to, and your second choice is on the house!" At the baffled look and already brewing protest on the young lovers' faces, the Lady turned on her heels quickly and hastily added over her shoulder as she sauntered away, "No need to thank me yet until you've tried it, dearies! I recommend the pomegranate, it's to _die_ for!"

She was not wrong. It tasted amazing and half an hour and a thoroughly demolished plate later, Eurydice was ready to sing her praises to the lady of the house in spades, but she was nowhere to be found. Or more accurately, she seemed to be everywhere at once, graciously flitting between tables like a butterfly from flower to flower as she dutifully visited each one to have a word or two with the patrons sitting there while she took her well-deserved victory lap. Just watching her made Eurydice feel dizzy.

As she got closer, the sounds of conversation reached Eurydice's ears and she could hear the onslaught of compliments before she could see Persephone’s smiling face come into view as she leaned over a nearby table. The obvious fan favorite seemed to be the same pomegranate jam pie that they’d just tasted, with fruit so sweet, rich and full in taste as if it was meant for the gods themselves, even though it wasn’t even supposed to be in season at the moment, and the Lady dodged each compliment with a wide smile that showed off her perfect white pearls, before she was gone again to the next table.

Everyone wanted to know her secret, and Eurydice was amused to note that she always had a different answer for them; whatever the real truth was, she obviously wasn’t keen on giving it up. Maybe because she thought it would kill the mystery. 

At the first table, it was:

“My secret? Oh, nothing you don’t have at home yourself, really. I just do what I can, with a little help from my friends is all.”

The Lady pointed in the direction of the kitchen, letting out a loud whistle to which three aproned women answered by ducking out from behind the shaded glass window that separated the two spaces. They waved at Persephone and she waved back before shooing them back to work again.

Then, at the next table, she said:

“Frankly, dear, forgive my candor: family secret. All to do with herbs and spices, nothing major, nothing drastic!”

By the time she finally reached the table where the young lovers sat, she was joined by a man in a simple black suit and a casual shirt hanging over his chest, who seemed to command just as much authority as she did, albeit in a very different way, and who only had eyes for the Lady Persephone and no one else. 

He stepped up behind her just as Orpheus posed the same question as every other patron before him, and Eurydice noticed the man subtly rubbing his hands together, as if brushing off dirt, behind his back before he drew an arm around the Lady’s lace-clad waist and threaded his hand with her own that seemed to seek him out immediately, without a single pause in the conversation. Eurydice noted the matching wedding bands the color of fine silver on their linked fingers, and she wasn’t surprised in the least when Persephone smiled at her husband over her shoulder and softly declared:

“Why, it’s love, of course. That’s my secret.”

The man, introduced by his wife as Hades, nodded and his face morphed into what passed as a smile on him; Eurydice guessed he didn’t smile much if that was his reaction to a thing like that.

They looked almost terrifyingly handsome together, both elegant in their respective black attires that seemed to match each other effortlessly, complete with a small red carnation in the man's lapel that, on closer inspection, perfectly complemented the discreet crimson stitching in the ruffles of the Lady's dress. There was a strange sort of power there that surrounded the two of them, and it almost made Eurydice shiver, though she couldn't for the life of her put her finger on why.

Then, in a move that surprised her more than it probably should have, the man leaned in to softly kiss his wife on the cheek, lingering a little as she leaned into it like a flower bending to the sun. Eurydice felt a strange urge to look away, but found she couldn't.

“What do you fine folks do?” Hades asked in a low drawl a moment later, a sound that was not quite of this world and Eurydice couldn't help but be in awe a little at how his voice almost seemed to be coming from below the earth itself. 

“I’m a poet,” Orpheus replied in his usual eager way, and Eurydice smiled at him fondly, missing the amused secret look that passed between husband and wife at the declaration. “Well, I write songs too, I suppose. I’m an artist.”

“And you, young lady?” Persephone asked turning to look at her, while her husband squeezed her side and retreated to the back of the diner through a side door that Eurydice hadn't even noticed was there before. 

_Curious_ , she thought for a second before directing her attention back to the woman in front of her.

“I’m a pragmatist,” she answered without really answering, and her eyes met the Lady Persephone’s shining chocolate ones, “and I’d like to thank you for your kind generosity this evening. The pies were truly incredible, and I don't know how we can thank you!”

"Don't mention it!" She brushed the gratitude off like it was not even worth bringing it up, and for a moment Eurydice wondered how it must have felt to be able to live like that. "I do want your opinion on the decor, if you don't mind sharing! It's still very fresh and I wonder how it's working out for the customers!"

"It's very sleek," Eurydice commented. "Love the details, I think they're incredible."

"Why thank you, my pretty! Hades says we don't need half of this stuff, but clearly the man is not a genius when it comes to interior design," Persephone smiled fondly and added, almost to herself it seemed, "in his defence, he _is_ quite handy with a toolkit though, my lover."

Eurydice looked at Orpheus with amusement in her eyes, but the Lady didn't seem to be bothered as she pondered out loud.

"I've been thinkin' flowers, maybe daisies," she seemed lost in thought as she considered her options for floral arrangements. "To brighten up the room, you know? We worked hard to slap this place into shape quick as we could, but there's still some work to be done."

"Daisies sound like a grand idea ma’am," Orpheus chipped in and Eurydice had to agree. She could picture it, the empty flower pots along the walls filled to the brim with beautiful white petals. Yes, it would do very nicely.

They didn't have much more time for pleasantries though, because the Lady's husband appeared again at her shoulder and whispered something in her ear that Eurydice couldn't make out. 

The Lady nodded and murmured something right back to him, before turning to the table once more to politely excuse herself and thank the young lovers for coming to her diner.

“Much obliged,” Hades spoke in their general direction as well, but his mind was obviously on something else as he tugged at his wife’s hand urgently.

“Do come again!” Persephone chirped with one last smiling look at them before being pulled away by her husband, back toward the kitchen, her light chuckles echoing in their wake as the couple got back to work.

“We will!” Orpheus promised enthusiastically to her retreating back, and Eurydice raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything else as they gathered their things and left the unique place behind. 

Once out on the street and back in the bustle of Londontown, she turned to her lover and couldn’t help the question that seemed to tumble out of her:

“Orpheus, didn’t you notice anything weird in there?”

“What do you mean, weird?” He looked at her like he couldn’t possibly fathom what she was talking about. She had noticed earlier too how enamored he seemed with the whole place, and especially the Lady Persephone herself; Eurydice would have felt jealous if she was that type of girl, but either way, she couldn’t exactly blame him. “Did you not like the pie?”

“No, I did...I did. It was amazing,” Eurydice mused. 

Almost _too_ amazing. She shook her head at herself; one good meal, and she was ready to cry wolf. It was a bit sad really, how little she trusted anything. The product of a deeply unstable and unpredictable past. Even if things were looking better for her now, her instincts from her childhood still remained. She would learn to live with them better with time, but Orpheus certainly didn’t need to hear about it now. 

“Nevermind, it’s nothing. Let’s just go.”

“If you’re sure,” he said with kindness in his eyes, after all, he did know her more than anyone, and Eurydice found comfort in that. 

Orpheus reached for her hand and she took it with a smile.

“I’m sure.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come yell at me on tumblr! (same username, it's my brand kids)


	2. not while i'm around

“I know what you’re thinking sister,” the female voice said, rich, low and melodic even if slightly muffled by the stone wall that currently separated them, but Persephone could pick out the voice of Atropos from those of a thousand women any day, no problem. “It is not her time yet.”

“You saw how she was looking at Mr. Hades! The lady is _not_ gonna like that!” Lachesis. Of course. No one else would dare talk about _her_ customers like that. Or Persephone herself for that matter. “I would’ve just done all of us a huge favor and you know it.”

“You were kissin’ up is what you were doin,” the third voice joined in, and Persephone couldn’t quite make out every word as clearly since Clotho always spoke much softer than her two sisters ever did. Not that Persephone was particularly interested in eavesdropping at that exact moment, it just so happened to be the case that she was close enough to hear the conversation on the other side. “We all know the boss man is helping you look for a place to open your own bakery, so there is no need to be such a brat about it. You could have at least told us yourself!“

“Is that jealousy I detect, dear sister? How very unlike you,” Lachesis mocked, before someone let out a loud shriek and the sound of cutlery hitting a hard surface followed by an equally loud bang and clash rang through the not-so-thick walls, and Persephone winced at the noise as she sighed and tilted her head upwards, her eyes closed in silent bliss, praying for just one more moment before it was over.

“Mmm, how long?” she asked in a hushed whimper on the other side of the wall, back pressed against it as her husband slowly and meticulously kissed down her throat, his stubble tickling her already sensitive skin, rekindling the embers in her stomach after their previous kisses. 

“I give them five minutes at most before they burn the whole place down,” Hades spoke right into her skin, his voice reverberating through her entire being, but made no effort to separate himself from her.

They’d stolen away to their usual hiding place about half an hour ago, a small pantry just behind the kitchen with only one entrance to the far back of the hallway which meant that no one ever came in here unless they absolutely needed something. And it just so happened that whenever Hades and Persephone claimed it for themselves for a morning or afternoon delight, mysteriously none of their employees ever needed anything. 

They probably all knew what the two of them were up to, but Persephone couldn’t care less at that moment. It was her name on the door, not anyone else’s, which meant she could do whatever she damn well pleased. And what _she_ wanted to do was kiss her husband just a few minutes more. The only problem was that the place didn’t run itself, and they were bound to be missed sooner rather than later.

“So, we’ve got five more minutes then?” She didn’t let him answer before claiming his mouth in a deep kiss that made new warmth blossom in the pit of her stomach as Hades hummed into her mouth, seeming just as content to take his time with her. “Will that be enough?”

“Eternity with you would not be enough,” he said and Persephone melted into the wall. 

That was _her_ husband.

Hades had always been a man of few words, but that only made the ones he did say all the more meaningful, and no one knew that better than her. He was a true gem among the rocks, her man. Rough-cut, maybe, but she preferred it that way. Wasn’t like she was a pure innocent maiden neither, far from it. They were cut from the same cloth, and it wasn’t silk or satin.

“I love you too, husband,” Persephone murmured, brushing their noses together in a gentle show of her affection before taking a step back with a resigned sigh as she looked him over and started rubbing the traces of her dark lipstick off his face. 

It was an old routine, and he smiled crookedly as he tapped her crow’s nest of hair down to tame it as much as was possible after his fingers had been buried in it for the better half of an hour. She didn’t have to wait long before he gave it up like he always did in the end, and told her she looked absolutely ravishing instead.

“That’s cause I’ve just been ravished,” Persephone quirked her lips and leaned over him for one last parting kiss before the two of them tore into the kitchen to put a stop to whatever it was that the damn sisters had gotten themselves into this time.

* * *

Mr. Hermes sat down with a grunt and the chair gave a creak that matched that of his own joints, unfolding the thin sheet of paper in his wrinkled hands. 

“Aight,” he told no one in particular as he settled more comfortably in his seat, ready to absorb some new town gossip. He had just come back from his usual morning round of collecting the daily, and was now sitting in the old wooden chair he kept by the window of his storefront, overlooking the street and partially hidden by the hanging trinkets that were on display over his head.

It was the perfect spot for a casual early morning stakeout while he read the paper and sipped his earl grey tea from the windowsill. It was his loyal routine and had been, for as long as he’s been living in the neighborhood. He was just beginning to rifle through the black and white pages of print, when he spotted a familiar duo walking on the other side of the street; it was the boy, Orpheus, and his almost-wife, heading in the direction of the diner just opposite his shop.

Mr. Hermes smiled as he watched them go. Apparently his suggestion had come to fruition, because this was not the first time they were back, nor even the second, and he was glad for it. Maybe one of these days, he would get around to seeing what all the fuss was about, and try one of those famous pomegranate pies himself, but for now, Mr. Hermes was more interested in what was new in his neighborhood.

He flicked through the contents first, as was his usual way, to weed out the inconsequentials: sports results, housewife recipes, the latest fashion. Those were of no interest to Mr. Hermes, but he did always save the crossword puzzle at the end for later - it was a welcome distraction for at least a little while when boredom really started to set in around early afternoon, and he was looking forward to the challenge.

Once he was content with his initial inspections, the first real story that caught Mr. Hermes' eye was the one plastered across the front page, naturally. 

It was an obvious puff piece about a foreigner in town for the season, a man who'd made his fortune and his name as a travelling merchant, a businessman of sorts, gaining a high regard for himself in the business of...well, _what_ exactly, the article neglected to say. In any case, even Mr. Hermes could surmise that the man had a reputation that preceded him, for the old clockmaker knew every face in his neighborhood, and he had yet to see the one on the picture before him. 

No matter, he was looking forward to it now. Maybe this prestigious merchant man would be willing to do business with him, might that he even had some spare parts that the clockmaker could use for one of his inventions.

Yes, _this_ _could_ _work_ _out_ _in_ _my_ _favor_ , he thought and took a generous sip of his tea.

* * *

It was the first day of their second and final week in Londontown before they had to go back home, and the young lovers have come to Lady Persephone’s for breakfast or dinner almost every day since that first encounter. They even had their regular table at this point and even Persephone herself had taken to sitting and chatting with them whenever she had nothing better to do.

“Good morning, my pretties!” she came to greet them that particular morning, almost as soon as they stepped inside with a bounce in her step and flourish in her movements that Eurydice has already come to associate with the eccentric lady of the house. The light pink blush covering the apple of her cheeks however, was new, but looking at her husband quietly appraising his wife’s form from a few feet away, Eurydice was quite certain she’d rather not know how it got there. “It’s good to see ya again!”

“Likewise,” she said, smiling at Persephone who put her hand on her arm as she guided them to their table, and Eurydice tipped her head in a small nod toward the man in black who watched the exchange.

Hades wasn’t a talkative sort of guy, which was just fine by Eurydice, but he had a solemn, almost looming presence that no doubt would have been plenty intimidating if she hadn’t witnessed the tender affection he so often showed his wife that considerably lessened any apprehension she might have felt toward him. He was wearing a dark suit again today, covered with white pinstripes this time which added a bit of funk to his otherwise gloomy appearance, and the red flower was still there over his heart, just like last time, and every other time Eurydice has seen him. 

It was...cute.

"Have you folks read the paper?" He asked as he came to stand behind the chair his wife was sitting in and put the daily print down on the table in front of them, his hand coming to rest on the Lady's shoulder.

"The one about the traveling merchant?" Orpheus asked, glancing at the front cover.

"No, that's just mindless lavish, not that there's anything wrong with that, but..." Persephone trailed off as she reached forward and wet her finger with her tongue to turn a few pages til’ she found what she was looking for. 

"There," she blurted triumphantly as she opened the paper on the fifth page, and pushed it in front of the two of them.

"Mind the article on the left side," Hades rumbled and Eurydice shivered at the sound, having almost forgotten that he was there. 

He leaned over his wife to point at a small, seemingly inconsequential piece of writing that barely covered three paragraphs, then summarized it for them before they even got a chance to read it for themselves. 

"There is someone new in town, and they are bad news, terrorizing women folk around the neighborhood.” Hades sounded strained as he spoke, and Eurydice wondered if this was his version of being upset. But then, he had every right, especially with such a lovely wife to worry about. “Best be careful."

"No need to scare them, lover," Persephone chided gently, her fingers stroking the knuckles of the hand that was still on her neck. Her eyes, though, were sharp and serious as she turned them towards the young couple. "But if anybody gives you any kind of trouble, you come to me first, you understand?"

Eurydice nodded, though she wasn't sure what a beautiful lady with a veritable pie shop and a devoted if frightening husband could do that would make any difference if something actually were to go down. The smoldering fire in Persephone's eyes suggested she had her ways even if Eurydice wasn't too keen on discovering what they were.

"We'll be careful," Orpheus reached for her hand on the table, squeezed it. Eurydice squeezed back, though she wasn't really afraid; she could take care of herself. 

Still, it was kind of them to worry, and she was glad when Orpheus voiced that thought for her so she didn't have to.

“You’re not from around here, son,” Hades boomed in that low voice of his, and it could have been posed as a question, but his tone suggested otherwise.

“No sir, Mr. Hades,” Orpheus answered anyway, her always eager poet. “We’re on a honeymoon trip.”

“Ya married?” Persephone asked, her deep brown eyes glinting up at Eurydice with newfound interest. There was a sort of motherly warmth in them that Eurydice could have used much more of while she was growing up. "I don't see any rings."

“Well, not exactly,” Eurydice smiled, then explained their situation to the Lady in detail over a cuppa, the two of them huddled together at the table laughing and chattering with enthusiasm like a little women’s club while Orpheus told Hades about his artistic endeavors in a much tamer fashion. 

The Lady and her man stayed talking with them like that for a while, until more customers started pouring in and duty called them away; soon enough the parlor was filled to the brim with the bustle of people coming and going and enjoying a good meal in the middle. 

Eurydice was sat in her chair, partially facing the entrance and overlooking most of the interior, which is why she’d picked it in the first place; she liked to have an overview of her surroundings. She was by herself, sipping on a second cup of tea and absent-mindedly reading the rest of the daily that Hades had left on the table for her. 

Orpheus had gone out to get himself a guitar pick from a souvenir shop nearby. Since Eurydice wasn’t particularly interested in watching him agonize over which color would go best with his other equipment, and she liked it here at Lady Persephone’s anyway, she stayed behind in the parlor while he was doing that.

She looked up from her newspaper at the sound of a chair scraping over wood nearby, and that’s when she saw _him_. 

Well, she’d seen him before when he first came in, but she didn’t pay him any mind beyond the usual mild distrust that she always felt toward strange men. He wore nondescript clothes and a dirty straw hat on his head that he hadn’t bothered to take off inside which was quite rude, but what alarmed Eurydice was the look in his waterish-gray eyes as he slid his chair incrementally closer to the table where a pretty young blond woman was sitting.

Eurydice did not like the look on his face one bit, and she debated crashing the party by sitting down at her table and putting herself between the man and whatever his end goal was, but then decided it was better to get rid of weeds like him by pulling them out root and stem. She slapped the paper down with a snap and quickly scanned the room for the person she was looking for.

“Lady Persephone,” Eurydice found her in the far back of the shop - where the lights were much more dim and the air felt thick with smoke that she couldn’t see the origin of - tending to the small bar that would only be available for customers in the evening hours. “A moment of your time, please.”

“Yes my pretty, what can I do for you?”

“Pointing fingers outright would be a touch too obvious, but there is a man in here that- well, I don’t mean to stir up trouble, but you did say to come to you directly...” Eurydice explained calmly with her back to the man in question, subtly indicating the direction with a nod of her head. 

She wasn’t a stranger to situations like this, but there was something about the way Persephone’s lips tightened into a thin line almost immediately that set even her teeth on edge.

“Is he _bothering_ you?” The Lady hissed like a viper before she even finished talking, and Eurydice could have sworn she saw actual sparks fly around her face. Eyes that were looking at her so kindly only moments before were burning so hot now it could scald if she wasn’t careful. “Because if he is, I can have Ha-”

“No, ma’am, he barely looked at me twice. I promise you, I’m fine,” she assured, laying a hand on the other woman’s arm. Her skin was as hot as a forge in a foundry. “But I did notice him looking at another girl just now, real calculating-like. Now, I don’t know if he is the same man the papers talked about, but he sure looked like he was planning _something_.”

He’d looked at Eurydice too, despite what she just told Persephone. He’d looked at her real long when he thought she wasn’t paying attention - at her wrinkled clothes, her mud-covered boots, the way her coat was coming apart at the seams - before he turned his nose up and looked away. Guess she weren’t up to his usual standards, the absolute bastard.

“I _knew_ it!” Persephone exclaimed, then lowered her voice as she remembered herself. “I knew I didn’t like the look of ‘im for a good reason! He’s been comin’ round here a couple times, and there was something off about him I thought, but I never had anything concrete to prove it besides my gut!” 

Not that that wouldn’t be enough for someone like Lady Persephone to take action; Eurydice had her suspicions anyway. 

“Excuse me, chickpea,” she addressed Eurydice, but her eyes were looking straight ahead at _him_ , her face set in stone. “Seems I gotta go take out the trash.”

Eurydice stayed back in the shadows of the bar, watching in fascination as Persephone strutted right up to him, her heels angrily click-clacking against the wooden surface, and threw the man out of her shop by his coattails without a single word from anyone; apparently it wasn’t the first time she’d done something like that. 

Not even a minute later, Eurydice saw a man in dark clothes slither away through a door at the back that must have led to the abandoned alley out back, if she were to hazard a guess. And though she couldn’t make out much in the foggy darkness, she did catch a glimpse of white stripes on black fabric before the trapdoor slid shut without a sound.

_Hades_.

Eurydice had a bad feeling about what she’d just seen, but stayed put in case she could hear something, the bar being the closest place inside to the alley. There weren’t any windows back here though, only a narrow slit of glass high in the brick wall that didn’t give much of a view anyway, especially with the limited visibility back there.

It occurred to Eurydice that maybe that’s what the fog was for.

She stood there for a bit, inching closer and closer to the small window to listen for any sign of disturbance coming from the alley, and feeling kind of ridiculous when absolutely nothing happened; she figured it was her usual paranoia, and Hades probably just went outside to sweep or something.

Then, just as she was about to go back to her table, Eurydice heard a distinct metallic clang, followed by a series of small grunts and the sounds of scuffle, and her eyes widened as she imagined the two men fighting while the patrons continued to prattle on inside, none the wiser. 

Well, almost no one.

Eurydice was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard the cacophony of jittering porcelain on steel, this time from inside the parlor as someone very deliberately stacked a bunch of cups and plates onto the tray in a politely smiling waiter’s hand, and Eurydice tried very hard not to connect that strange scene to the one she knew was simultaneously going on out back in the alley. 

It was a futile effort anyway, the only person standing close enough to the alley to hear anything was Eurydice, and she’d already heard what she assumed Persephone was working very hard to cover up at the moment, while the waiter stood patiently, easily balancing the tray on his muscled arm.

Eurydice bit the inside of her cheek at the absurdity of it all.

She knew she should probably be more appalled at her recent discovery, and if she were the average young girl she might even feel compelled to tell someone exactly what kind of business the Lady and her husband were into, beating up customers they didn’t like and all that, but Eurydice found she didn’t want to do that.

Maybe she didn’t know them as well as she thought, but they’d been kind to her and Orpheus, so her lips would remain sealed on the matter, she decided. 

Not to mention that pervert in the straw hat probably deserved a good beating up anyway, and surely Mr. Hades wouldn’t go any further than that. All it was, was a bit of fear-mongering to make sure he never came around here to bother any of their customers again. 

Surely.

* * *

Persephone was perched at her bar in the back, lazily swirling a straw in her pomegranate cocktail that she was only half-drinking; she wasn’t much into the taste of alcohol in general, but her fruit was fresh and very popular with the patrons so she might as well find other uses for it besides just puttin’ it in pies.

There was a bit of an afternoon lull in customers now that the lunch hour rush was over, and her favorite chickpea had left hours ago so she didn't have much in the way of entertainment or conversation. Weren't much to do for her at the moment except bother the sisters in the kitchen, but she'd done that until they started bothering _her_ more and now she was just waiting on Hades to finish up with the downstairs business, but he was taking his sweet time.

He never let Persephone help him, the stupid idiot. She could've made the gruesome bits go a lot faster, she had hands after all, and it ain't like she was a squeamish little flower, he _knew_ that. But hey, at least chivalry wasn't dead.

Hades showed up just as she was about to bust the door down on him in her boredom, chivalry be damned. She couldn't be responsible for what she did when she couldn't occupy herself and he knew that too. Lucky for them both, he was here now and she instantly calmed at the sight of him.

"Welcome back, lover," she greeted, holding her face up for a kiss and Hades gave her two. "Are you done cleaning up?"

"Just about," he murmured as he drew Persephone closer by the waist, the barstool putting her head level with his, and it was almost too easy to open her legs under her loose skirts and clasp them around his middle as he willingly stepped into her little trap. "The floor could use a little more scrubbing to pass inspection, but I missed ya."

"We'll do it later. I'm glad you're back, I was getting bored."

"We can't have that," her husband rumbled in Persephone's ear in that low voice of his that absolutely made her knees go weak. 

His kisses didn't help either. Well, they did, just not with staying upright and she melted into him with a sigh, content to stay in his arms like that until the sound of the bell rang through the empty space and sprung them apart.

"A customer!"

Persephone peered out from her husband's embrace to inspect the newcomer without committing herself to go greet them yet. She liked most of her patrons well enough, unless she didn't like them at all, but some people were just more interesting to talk to than others, and it was often hard to tell until it was too late.

"What about him?” Hades asked, his arms tightening around her slightly and Persephone almost laughed at his protective instinct, knowing what he was really asking her.

“Easy, lover.” 

She watched the man be greeted by one of their employees, a girl with dark skin and kind eyes that always seemed to follow Persephone around in awe like a loyal pet; it was no wonder that she was one of the boss lady's favorites.

The stranger took his hat off and shrugged out of a fine linen coat, draping it over the back of the chair across from his own. Underneath, he wore expensive looking fabric of a material she didn't easily recognize, and though Persephone couldn't make out his accent from so far away, she suspected that too was something foreign. 

“I think that’s the merchant who’s in from out of town," she told Hades in a low voice, even though they were nowhere near enough to be overheard. "Better not make accusations before we’ve at least seen what he’s sellin.”

“Could be bad news.”

“Could also be gillyflowers for all you know,” she retorted, stroking the inside of his lapel soothingly to soften the blow. 

He'd always been a big protector, her man. From the moment she first saw him, Persephone knew that she would always be safe with him. Other people, who he might perceive as potential threats for his wife though, not so much. 

“One's enough for today, husband. Let me handle this part.”

“I won’t be far,” he promised.

“I know,” she smiled at him, a hand over her heart as she went to greet the new arrival.

He never was.


	3. no place like london

The smell of spices wafted in the air as merchants yelled and offered their products around to better entice potential customers. It was past lunchtime and Eurydice was looking for something to eat, while Orpheus was gone to trade a word or two with the busker strumming his instrument on the small cobblestoned square between the kiosks.

As she was walking by the tables of spread goods, her eye caught on a simple watch half-hidden between a sea of expensive looking materials and rich gemstones that most people would have rather given their attention to. But not Eurydice.

The watch was simple enough, roman numerals on a black backdrop and a thin brown leather strap to clasp around her wrist; in fact she had one just like it, carefully wrapped somewhere in the back of her bag. It was her late father's only possession, left to her after he died, and though Mr. Hermes had done all he could to fix it, one of the handles broke again the other day, and for a second Eurydice entertained the idea of buying this, if not identical, but very similar one instead.

"See something you like, young lady?"

Eurydice looked up into a pair of dark green eyes that were studying her intently. They belonged to a man, well in middle age, with sharp features and a prominent brow, hair graying at the temples and a scruffy beard on his chin. The face felt oddly familiar to her for some reason, but Eurydice doubted they'd met before.

"Diamonds and pearls? Rubies? Fine velvet skirts?"

"I was looking at the watch, actually."

He seemed taken aback, if only for a second, and she delighted in it.

"An interesting choice, for someone so pretty and young," he smirked, and Eurydice instantly felt an uncomfortable sensation prickling her skin, though she wasn't sure why. "Seems an awful waste."

She narrowed her eyes.

"Are you...talking me out of buying from you?"

"Of course not," the merchant said, plastering a wide smile on his face that would've fooled lesser men. "Let's see about that watch, shall we?"

It was then that a group of old women, vendors or shoppers Eurydice couldn't say, passed by the kiosk gossiping loudly, and it was hard not to overhear what they were prattling about.

"...didn't you hear? Oh, such terrible news! Just terrible..." 

"...no, I don't believe it! Again? Oh, lord have mercy on these poor girls..."

“...but at least it seems like that damn thief finally got caught! Small mercies..."

Eurydice assumed they were talking about the assaults in the article that the Lady Persephone and her husband had warned them about a couple days ago. Apparently, it wasn’t a one-time thing, but a serial offender, which was definitely bad news. As for the thief, well, Eurydice had her own suspicions.

"Have you heard the news?" The man asked her conversationally, like he was only talking about the weather.

"I have."

"Awful, what some people get up to these days. This world is a dangerous place."

"Sure is,” Eurydice agreed, then did a double take when he held the watch out to her and she got a closer look at the price. “Listen, I don’t think I can afford to buy this watch after all.”

“You can have it,” he said with a shrug. Like it was nothing. Looking at his clothes, and the diamond bracelets on his arm, maybe it _was_ nothing to him. “Not many people would even look at something like this twice, and the way you have, it might mean something to you. So take it.”

"You sure?"

“I’m sure. I’ve got plenty business without it.”

That’s when it clicked. Why he seemed so familiar. She _had_ seen him before, once, on the cover of a newspaper.

“Oh, you’re that-”

“Name of Zeus,” he introduced himself and looked real smug at having been recognized by her. Eurydice supposed there was a certain charm to him, even if it wasn't exactly to her taste. “Glad to make your acquaintance, little lady.”

"And yours," she nodded politely as she took the watch, and hastily bid goodbye to the merchant to go in search of her fiance.

She found him a couple stands over, pouring over flowers, his head bent in concentration as he was so obviously trying and failing to make up his mind.

"Orpheus!"

"Eurydice!"

"Hey," she greeted when she got close enough, sliding the watch into her bag before she took his hand. "I need to tell you something I've just heard."

"Sure thing, but first, please help me decide which of these daisies Lady Persephone would like best for her flower pot decorations..."

* * *

“So let me get this straight,” Atropos volunteered to summarize where things stood, as they were rapidly running out of time before customers would start arriving. “You’re saying, filthy straw hat from the other day... _not_ the rapist in the paper?”

With barely twenty minutes left until opening time, the five of them were gathered around the marble table in the kitchen that was currently covered in flour and some abandoned ingredients, including a bowl of dough, fresh pomegranates and a small mason jar of thick dark liquid; and they were discussing the new development regarding the neighborhood offender. 

Atropos held the morning paper in her hand studying it intently, sporting an expression of genuine concern on her face as she took in the alarming new information. There was a new article in the paper that morning that Persephone and Hades just brought in as soon as they arrived and brought it to the attention of the sisters, interrupting them halfway through the process of preparing the first batch of pies for the morning. 

Not that that was their biggest concern at the moment.

Because according to the article, whoever was behind the previous attacks had apparently struck again, and this time, the victim was a young woman from their own neighborhood, her body found not even that far from Persephone’s own place of business. One street over, and it could have been one of her own girls, or worse yet, one of her innocent female customers. Enough was enough.

Persephone nodded at the same time as Lachesis interjected, “Well, it can't be him, since…” she trailed off with a pointed hand gesture that spoke for itself.

 _Since we killed him_ , there was no reason to say because they all did it together _._

Well, Hades did _it_. Because she asked. He always did anything she asked of him, and sometimes what she asked for was murder. 

It wasn't the first time she got it wrong either, and it probably wouldn't be the last, but Persephone couldn't honestly say she was sorry he was dead. Or any of them others before him. They had all deserved it in one way or another, even if most people would say it wasn't up to her to make such judgments on other's souls. But Persephone had no illusions about the human race, and she preferred to keep the sort of company that had a similar mindset.

"Seems that way,” Hades answered, bringing her out of her thoughts promptly. “He was a criminal, only one after gold, not skirts.”

“He was the pickpocket that’s been tormenting the market vendors recently,” she added. To be fair, she only found that out after, but either way, service has been done. “Hades found a dozen wallets under his clothes."

“That’s a downright shame,” Lachesis commented in a way that didn’t suggest she had any genuine concern one way or the other. “Well, not for the vendors, I suppose. And certainly not for us,” she said, glancing at the jar on the table with their secret ingredient. 

“What’s done is done,” Persephone deemed the matter closed. They had bigger fish to fry at the moment. “But that means the real threat is still out there, as we speak.”

Sensing that she was in the way, Persephone took a step back and perched herself against the counter to let her cooks do their work while she continued on with the meeting. Hades joined her, and they watched as Clotho took up her blueberry-colored apron and carried on mixing the jam with the pomegranates until they were a veritable blend of the same color. 

Atropos busied herself with preparing the dough, but her interest had clearly been piqued and she wondered out loud, “Who do you suppose it could be then if not him?”

That was the question on Persephone’s mind as well. 

She couldn’t bear the thought of this faceless jerk, prowling around her neighborhood like he owned the place. Even if he did, some things were unforgivable. And Persephone never had been good at letting things slide, no matter how big or small. No, this would just not do. Not on her watch.

“What about that new guy, that merchant?” Clotho asked after a brief silence without looking up from her work. Four heads turned in her direction instantly. “I mean, he is the perfect candidate. He arrived just around the time when the assaults started, you gotta admit that’s suspicious.”

“Really? Mr. Handsome Merchant Man? Are you sure, sister?” Lachesis crooned. Clearly, her priorities lay in much more superficial matters than whether or not a man was a violent serial offender with a penchant for killing women after defiling them. It made Persephone’s blood boil again just thinking about it, but to each her own, at the end of the day.

“No man is innocent,” Hades commented from her side, and she couldn’t help nudging him slightly with her hip in mock protest, before she leaned into him a bit more, communicating silently as they so often did. Innocent or not, he was hers and she loved him more than anything, but he knew all that already. He turned to her. “I don’t know, what do you think?”

“Zeus?” Persephone mused, thinking back on their first meeting, just the other day. She could instantly tell he was a rich man, even before hearing about his many businesses. There was just that sort of air about him that rich people get; a bit of arrogance and a lot of pompousness. It was annoying as hell, but not necessarily a criminal offense. At least, not _yet._ “Oh, he seems harmless enough, if a tad too interested in how I keep my pomegranates fresh for some reason.”

He’d jumped on the topic the other day, as soon as Hades released her to go over to talk to him while Zeus was eating his pie, pestering her about the type of technology they used to keep the fruit fresh all year round; pomegranates were not currently in season after all.

He was probably sniffing an opportunity to make even more money by riding in on the coattails of her own success and Persephone suspected that was how he’d operated in the business so far, which did nothing to warm her up to his overly charming facade. He even gave her a card, in case she changed her mind about doing business with him.

Not that Persephone would ever give up _that_ secret, and especially not to the likes of him. She frowned. Maybe Clotho was right and it was worth keeping an eye on Zeus after all, at least for as long as he was staying in town.

“In any case, we should proceed with caution, especially now with those two kids that keep coming around,” her husband reminded, and Persephone instantly felt a tugging inside at the thought of anything happening to either of them.

“They mustn’t get caught up in this, Hades.” Persephone looked at him with a newfound fire in her eyes, feeling a kindling of a strange sort of warmth in her chest when it came to Orpheus and Eurydice. She didn’t know why, but it was of the utmost importance that they remained safe and completely unharmed. 

Hades looked back at her for a long moment, and his gaze told her he just might have understood. “You’re right, lover. We'll protect them.”

Atropos put the last pie in the oven just as their meeting drew to a close, and the five of them concluded that everyone would keep their eyes open and their ears to the ground, just in case, but other than that it would be business as usual. 

Whoever this mystery criminal was, sooner or later he would reveal himself and they’d catch him, and Persephone vowed to make him rue the day he was even born, for daring to threaten the lives of women and girls in the Lady Persephone’s neighborhood. 

It was only a matter of waiting now.

* * *

Dusk was settling over Londontown as Hades and Persephone walked along the northern bank of the snaky river hand in hand, enjoying a quiet night out together. It had been her idea, but Hades was only too happy to go along, as always. 

Persephone was his reason and his life, and he cherished this quality time with her, despite the fact that they already spent most of their waking hours together. Ever since their first meeting all those years ago, it didn’t matter how much of her he had in his life and his space, he knew he’d always want more. It still baffled him sometimes that she actually felt the same way about him.

“Do you want to go down to the dock?” He asked, knowing how much she loved to watch the sunset over the river, and Hades himself was quite partial to seeing the rich warm colors of the dying sun frame his wife’s face like a halo in the failing light. She was always the picture of serenity when surrounded by nature and he would never get enough of it.

“Sure,” she smiled up at him with so much love in her eyes, and his heart shuddered at the sight. He leaned in to kiss her, and just as Persephone was about to deepen it, Hades heard something in the distance that instantly set his alarm bells ringing. 

It was definitely a woman’s voice, in what wasn’t quite a full scream, but Hades was not the sort of man who liked guessing when it came to women’s safety, so he quickly drew Persephone behind him with a finger over his mouth to signal caution. She followed his orders without complaint, and he kept his hand tight in hers as they hurried toward the noise while making as little as possible themselves, instead of in the opposite direction, like most people would’ve done.

As they got closer to the source, it became increasingly clear that they had arrived just in the nick of time to witness another assault, and hopefully stop it before it was too late. 

There were two figures down by the water at the edge of the dock, presumably a man and a woman as far as he could make out. And though the woman seemed to be quite small in stature, she was putting up a hell of a fight against her attacker who was covered in dark clothes and a mask over his face that made the question of his identity an all the more puzzling matter.

Hades’ mind was looking for a more immediate solution however, and he quickly motioned for Persephone to stay behind one of the columns of the building closest to them, where she could safely observe the events from afar, shielded from view in case worst came to worst and running was her only option. It was pure instinct to protect her, but once he knew his wife would be alright, Hades turned his attention to the woman on the dock, breaking into a run through the grassy path that led him there to get to her that much faster.

“Hey,” he yelled as loud as he could when he was close enough that he could intervene quickly, and the attacker snapped his head up instantly at the sudden intrusion. He was obviously weighing his options, in what little time he had left, and Hades wasn’t about to give him more opportunities.

He was close enough by then to see that the woman had curly brown hair, and she was young, about as young as that customer girl Persephone had become so fond of recently, and she looked terrified, but blessedly not visibly hurt besides the scrapes on her arms and hands. 

“Get your hands off her, you scum!” He bellowed, in what he assumed was a terrifying voice to most people, and the dark figure seemed to make up his mind as he grabbed his victim by her hair and pushed her violently toward the concrete before taking off in the opposite direction, and Hades let out a roar of frustration. 

Of course he wasn’t going to chase after him if there was any chance that this girl was hurt, and he had to admit that it was a smart move. 

Hades knew that his wife had witnessed the incident from her hiding place behind the column, and she was probably coming towards him right this minute, but the girl absolutely couldn’t wait. She looked unconscious as he approached her slowly, and gently reached out to check the wound where her head hit the pavement. At first glance it didn’t look too deep, but she still needed medical attention.

“Hey, it’s alright,” he told her when she stirred at the touch, her eyes frantic as she took him in; Hades could tell that she was still very much afraid, and he didn’t blame her. “You’re safe,” he kept repeating, even as he took a step back when she looked just as terrified as before.

Thankfully, his wife reached them at that moment, and Hades turned to her for help.

Persephone smiled apologetically, signaling him to stay behind for the time being while she went to talk to the shivering woman. Hades watched the exchange from a few feet away and noted with relief that the brunette seemed much more receptive to his wife’s comfort, and would hopefully calm down enough that she might be able to answer some questions. 

Hades looked in the direction the attacker went, but of course, he was long gone by then. He kicked himself for not thinking better on his feet, but there wasn’t much to do about it now.

"Can you stand, sweetheart?" He heard Persephone ask in a soft, gentle voice a few minutes later, and at that moment, Hades felt especially grateful for her keen ability to handle situations like this. "We need to get you to a doctor right away, check you out and all. Do you have anyone in the city, a friend or a relative maybe?"

The girl nodded and they agreed to take her to her aunt's house a couple streets over, who she said was a nurse and would know how to help. Persephone let the young woman lean on her, and the two of them walked in front while Hades kept his distance, walking a few paces behind them.

The two women talked in quiet, hushed voices that he couldn’t quite make out for a while, before his wife asked a few more questions, and he caught a word or two in between, but not much. Still, Hades knew it was for the best if he stayed behind and let Persephone work her magic.

“Thank you so much, darling,” he heard his wife say when they've finally reached the block of houses that she had indicated. “You’ve done so well. Go on, my sweet, everything will be alright now.”

Hades and Persephone stayed there with her until her aunt came to the door and they were sure she was in safe hands, and only after bidding them goodbye did Hades turn to his wife to inquire about what she managed to find out.

“Green eyes, and she said he definitely had an accent,” Persephone told him, barely articulating the words through gritted teeth as they walked at a brisk pace in the quiet London evening. He could tell she was already working herself up something awful. “You know who has green eyes? _Zeus_.”

"So it _is_ him," he snarled, feeling anger coil tight in his belly too in an instant.

"We gotta stop the bastard, Hades," his wife all but spat as her eyes lit up dangerously in the approaching darkness, in a way that clearly meant blood would spill, and then turn to jam later. 

He squeezed her hand as tight as he dared, knowing Persephone could take it.

"We will. I swear it."


	4. poor thing

Persephone was a human livewire in the days leading up to the _event._

She wasn't afraid or worried, no, but she was impatient as hell; she absolutely could not wait to see the light go out of the bastard's eyes forever. 

Every day that he was still out there was another chance for him to take a new victim, another poor innocent girl, and just thinking about it got her so worked up that, more than once, Hades had to talk her out of reaching for a kitchen knife and getting things done the old-fashioned way.

Her husband was the opposite of Persephone in many ways, but this one was the most infuriating; the more worked up she got and the more loudly she wanted to scream and commit bloody murder, the calmer Hades became, bringing her back from the precipice every time her thoughts of revenge threatened to take her too far.

So, heeding her man’s advice, Persephone busied herself with whatever task she could find in case she got an itch to go find Zeus herself and get a headstart on him before the time came and he showed up on schedule like they agreed.

He hasn't come by the parlor since that first time, but Persephone retrieved his business card from where she'd tossed it away after their first meeting, and managed to get a message to him through one of her employees. She didn't specify what the invitation was for, but Persephone was positive he'd attend anyway, in hopes of stealing important business secrets from her. 

That was three days ago, and as the time approached, she got antsier and more irritable by the second; her entire body hissing like static over a bad radio channel, and Persephone couldn't wait to get this whole thing over with.

On the day of, Eurydice asked her three times if she was alright.

"Right as rain, chickpea! I'm just excited," she said and it technically wasn't a lie. Well, that part anyway. "For your show tonight, of course. You and Orpheus will be a sensation, I'm telling ya!"

“Are you sure about this?” Eurydice asked, definitely the more skeptical of the two. Persephone had spoken with her before, about the girl's love of singing, and Orpheus' own musical ambitions have been obvious from the start, so putting two and two together it didn't take much for a plan to form in Persephone's mind.

She convinced the two of them to put on a performance for the patrons since they would be leaving soon anyway, their honeymoon coming to an end, and a little publicity stunt combined with their goodbye couldn't hurt Persephone’s business or Orpheus’ musical career, so it was a perfectly reasonable and seemingly innocent idea. 

The fact that it was scheduled to take place at the same time as something decidedly less innocent was purely coincidental.

“Of course I’m sure,” she said, bopping the girl’s nose before she ruffled Orpheus’ hair and put her arms around the pair reassuringly. 

She would miss the two lovebirds sorely, once they went back to their regular life on the other side of the world, but she was trying not to think about that now. One crisis at a time, as was her motto.

“You sounded just beautiful yesterday, and you can practice some more this afternoon," Persephone reassured the girl, as well as herself. "Everything will be just fine, my pretty. Everything will be just fine.”

* * *

After some practice, Eurydice felt much better about the upcoming performance and she decided that in the remaining time she would entertain Persephone at the back where she was currently restocking the bar and trying to invent another cocktail to chase away whatever unease she claimed she wasn't feeling. 

Eurydice knew better, but she didn't want to pry. 

The Lady and her have gotten closer in the past weeks, and she was certainly someone that Persephone happily gave her time to, but that didn't mean she would be so generous with her secrets as well, and Eurydice respected that too much to want to stir up any unwanted trouble.

Instead, she hopped onto a barstool and ordered one of each of the house's newest concoctions to try, if only to see the genuine smile light up Persephone's face like the flip of a switch when she did so. 

She tried the mango flavored drink first, taking a sip of the golden liquid while a pair of warm chocolate brown eyes studied her reaction intently.

"What do you think?"

The fruit tasted sweet and juicy, but a little tart. Paired with the tequila that Persephone made her guess was in it, Eurydice liked it well enough. It certainly packed a sweet little punch, but a flashy drink like that wasn't exactly her style and she wasn’t afraid to say so. 

"It's perfect for the older ladies bored out of their minds though," she joked and the two women erupted in laughter, even drawing a few curious glances in their direction from the patrons at the closest tables which only made them laugh harder. 

“Alright, chickpea, let me give you something else to try. I know just the thing...” Persephone purred with sparkling irises before Eurydice found herself being roped into trying a few more fruity alcoholic beverages for the next half hour. 

The pomegranate wine was pungent in the best possible way, the vodka lemon with a bit of pineapple juice was a bit too sharp for her taste but still she soldiered on; however, Eurydice’s favorite was the more classic rum and lime combination that Persephone left for the end of the tasting, pushing it toward her with a wink and a smile as if she already knew it would be her first pick. 

She wasn’t wrong. The drink left Eurydice a little lightheaded and she promptly refused to have any more before she began to feel unsteady on her feet. She was glad for the muscle relaxant, but she knew she still needed to keep her wits about her for the night ahead.

That didn’t stop her from enjoying herself for the time being though. The space filled with the sounds of soft music as Orpheus started jamming on his guitar, and Eurydice couldn’t keep her feet from moving as she started swaying to the music. Persephone followed suit, and the two women gave themselves over to the melody if only for the moment.

It was nice. Eurydice closed her eyes and let her body dictate the rhythm of her movements without really thinking about what to place where. She didn’t know how long she kept dancing like that, but when she opened her eyes again it was to a sight that made her smile even wider. 

Hades was holding his wife in his arms, occasionally twirling her around in small circles that made Persephone giggle every single time without fail, until she couldn’t stop, collapsing like a puddle of lovesick goo in her husband’s arms. Hades leaned in to kiss her nose gently, and Eurydice smiled at them fondly, knowing full well that they were lost in their own little world right now and wouldn’t pay her any mind whatsoever. 

She had to admit, she would miss bearing witness to small moments like this; seeing the genuine love and affection they had for one another was truly something to behold, and Eurydice had to look up to search out her fiance’s eyes as well on the other side of the room.

She smiled brightly when she found that Orpheus was already looking at her. She blew him a kiss before she went back to her dancing.

Later, when Hades had gone back to whatever he was doing and it was just Eurydice and Persephone again, she finally asked a question she’d been wanting to ask for a while now.

"How did you two meet?"

Persephone laughed. Her eyes twinkled though, crinkling at the corners, so Eurydice suspected an answer was coming.

" _Well_ ,” the Lady actually purred as she drew the word out on her tongue like a secret. “Believe it or not, before I got this place, I was a bartender."

"You mean barmaid?"

"No, no, bartender. Didn't own the place, but I did own the customers, so to speak. Kept coming back the lot of 'em," she said, vaguely gesturing down to her cleavage with a scandalous wink at Eurydice, "couldn't for the life of me figure out why."

Eurydice swallowed, but kept her mouth shut.

"Anyway, wasn't a bad job per se. Bunch of drunkards most days, but you get used to it after a while. And I can handle myself, thank you very much. But then this one started coming around," Persephone said, tilting her head in the direction her husband disappeared to. "Wouldn't drink a drop of alcohol, just wanted a soda with a slice of lemon. Every damn time.”

The Lady shook her head at Eurydice, but the fondness in her eyes was unmistakable as she carried on. 

“That is not to say I didn't try to get him to drink, 'cause you see that was my job. He wouldn't budge, but he wouldn't stop coming either. Wasn't much of a talker, Hades, not even then, but I didn't mind it. Finally had someone that I could pour my own frustrations out to, once I got bored enough of the silent routine. He took it all, every drop. That's when I knew he was a keeper."

"So," Eurydice leaned forward in her seat, her legs dangling off to the side. She was curious, in spite of herself. "How did it happen?"

" _It?"_

Eurydice blushed what she imagined was a deep shade of scarlet and Persephone chuckled. She knew the Lady held affection for her, but that didn’t mean Persephone didn’t enjoy teasing her whenever she found an opportunity.

"You know what I mean," Eurydice huffed. "How did you finally get together?"

Persephone hummed. 

“It was actually after he got into a fight with one of the men,” she said quietly, the humor suddenly gone from her features. “Defending my honor.”

Eurydice raised her eyebrows and Persephone sighed as if to say “ _Fine_ ” before downing the rest of the pomegranate wine in the cup in front of her.

“It was an ordinary day. You know what men are like, especially when they have a couple drinks in ‘em. Guy was sprouting some drunk nonsense or other...irrelevant cow shit, to be honest with ya, I barely even heard it.”

Eurydice has learned that Persephone was a master at saying one thing while meaning another, and she hid it well enough, but Eurydice has become adept at learning to look beneath the surface in the time she'd known her. 

“But Hades wouldn't let it go, and he made sure everyone in that bar knew where he stood on the matter. It was...reckless. Stupid. Unnecessary. And I couldn't believe he'd done it.” Persephone shook her head, softening as she continued. “It was also the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me and I was completely done for. But as luck would have it, he was too, so you see it all turned out in the end.”

“Mhm, so it did,” Eurydice hummed.

“He basically offered to be my bodyguard if I’d have him and...well, I guess I don’t need to tell ya what happened after that,” Persephone winked saucily and the air of seriousness was once again broken. 

Trust her to find that one bubble of tension and break it with a practiced swing of a pickaxe. Eurydice tried her damnedest not to blush, but she reckoned she didn’t really manage it.

“Y-yeah.”

* * *

"Pleasure doing business with ya, Mr. Hermes," the man said in that way people do when they're being real polite, that gives absolutely nothing away in the way of whether or not they're being genuine or just dripping their phony nectar in your ear.

It was early in the afternoon, and the merchant had wondered in to the clockmaker's shop as Mr. Hermes suspected he would, looking for a favorable bargain. It took some back-and-forth, after all, Mr. Hermes was no stranger to the barter, but they've finally managed to come to an agreement regarding some spare parts that the vendor was selling.

Mr. Hermes didn't trust Mr. Zeus as far as he could throw 'im, but his products at least seemed to be of real value and that was enough for the clockmaker. 

He's heard whispers of course, mostly from the other side of the street. Nothing concrete though, nothing that was enough to convince him one way or another about the man's worth or lack thereof. Innocent until proven guilty, or so they said.

Some folks seemed concerned with sticking their noses where they didn't belong, but not Mr. Hermes; least not at the price of risking his own skin. He was no justice of the peace and how Mr. Zeus made that good fortune and kept it was no business of his. The rest, he was sure, would reveal itself sooner or later.

In this case, it was the first.

"Likewise. Have you got any other deals lined up, Mr. Zeus?"

"Mm," the man smiled in a demure sort of way, but did not give a straightforward answer.

Mr. Hermes shrugged as he reached for a cloth to wrap the newly acquired clock parts into, before he found a more permanent place for them in his shop, preferably incorporating them in one of the machines he was working on. 

He was content to let the question slide and let the two men go their separate ways. However, Mr. Zeus had yet to move, and it would have been rather impolite to simply kick him out, so they stayed there in silence until Zeus spoke.

“Have you ever been to the pie parlor across the street?” He inquired in an almost too casual manner that Mr. Hermes thought a bit curious, as well as amusing. 

There was something in the way he came to ask that question so suddenly that made Mr. Hermes think it was anything but. He looked up at the man in his shop, then followed his gaze outside the glass window, and sure enough, there Lady Persephone stood, if only for a brief moment as she seemed to be eyeing the street as if looking for someone. 

She disappeared inside her pie shop a moment later, but Mr. Zeus' eyes remained trained on the spot she just vacated for a good minute after that. 

“That is quite the lady, if you know what I mean.”

His tone was interesting, but Mr. Hermes decided to ignore the indecently familiar undercurrents hiding in it for the time being.

"I haven't tried it myself, but I hear her talents are indeed legendary,” he confirmed, nodding. “As is her fruit."

"Do they really stay fresh all year round?"

There was a quick gleam of _something_ in the merchant's eyes that he couldn't hide fast enough as he asked the question. Mr. Hermes raised his eyebrows slightly at this new development.

"That's what they say."

"I'm going back again at the owner's invitation," Zeus confided, puffing his chest out like it was something to brag about.

Maybe he was right, but all Mr. Hermes gave him in turn was a tight-lipped smile, more as a polite gesture than anything that would betray genuine emotion. He didn’t seem bothered by that though, and he probably didn’t care either way. 

“Maybe she’ll finally give her secrets up to me. I smell one of the best business deals of my life.”

Ah. _That explains it,_ the clockmaker thought.

Mr. Hermes doubted that the Lady Persephone would do anything of the sort, but he didn’t see any use in pointing that out. Mr. Zeus would learn soon enough.

* * *

It was almost time and Hades found his hands itching to get this over with. It was curious, as he generally wasn't nervous or any other type of emotional about the matter.

He knew what he was doing, and he also knew it was required of a man to keep a clear head about himself. Which he usually did. Yet, he couldn't help the suspicion that something about this time felt different.

He was coming up the steps from the down below to the parlor where a great many people were already gathered for the advertised concert. Just as Hades was about to look around for Persephone, he found the songbird wandering near the kitchen, probably trying to work out some nerves of her own with all that pacing by wearing a hole in the carpet, and he swiftly changed his course to see about her first.

"What are you cooking there?" Eurydice asked the women working behind the glass, placing her elbows by the small window and standing on her toes to peek inside through the small window that they usually kept closed in order to avoid this exact possibility.

Hades pinched the bridge of his nose as he heard more than saw Clotho slap the lid on a pot a little too aggressively. 

"It's jam," piped three voices simultaneously, and Hades closed his eyes, trying his damnedest to remember something about counting his breaths that Persephone had taught him once upon a time.

"With pomegranates?"

"Yes," he heard one of the sisters answer the girl, his eyes still closed. He damn well hoped the pot was already hidden from her prying eyes. "Just pomegranates."

Hades opened his eyes, and upon seeing Eurydice about to open her mouth again, decided to step in to prevent any further inquiries on the matter.

"Isn't your performance coming up soon?"

"Persephone said we should be ready to go on in about half an hour," the songbird replied with a nervous titter, but Hades was already focused on something else entirely.

“Where _is_ my wife?” He directed the question at the girl, but his eyes were parsing the area for Persephone.

Hades hasn’t seen her in the past half hour, which was beginning to worry him because she usually didn’t leave his side whenever he was upstairs. Not that Persephone couldn’t do whatever she wanted on her own, but she tended to gravitate to his side whenever they were together; it was just the way of things. 

“Oh, I think I saw her with a patron,” Eurydice replied with a shrug. “Some guy, I didn’t get a good look.”

That made Hades tense up immediately and he swiftly excused himself.

It was probably more than a little rude, but he couldn't help it. His mind was already on getting his wife out of whatever trouble he expected Persephone would land herself in.

* * *

“ _Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird…_ ” Orpheus strummed the chords of his guitar while Eurydice began to sing in a soft, clear voice that rang through the parlor and captivated the patrons, which was exactly the kind of distraction they needed and Persephone mentally clapped herself on the back for her brilliant idea. _“...how is it you sing?”_

“What a delightful young woman,” she heard from over her shoulder and Persephone had to grit her teeth to keep her composure when she realized who Zeus was talking about. “I think I sold her a watch the other day."

_How can you jubilate sitting in cages, never taking wing?_

One long breath in, one long breath out.

"...well, I say sold...”

_Outside the sky waits, beckoning, beckoning, just beyond the bars._

Two. 

In and out, shoulders squared, jaw unclenched, chin up. 

_How can you remain staring at the rain, maddened by the stars?_

Three.

The chickpea had a voice like no other, that much was true. Orpheus was no amateur as he plucked the strings with an ease that almost made Persephone jealous; their performance was utterly captivating and she wished she could stay and listen, but she was a woman on a mission. 

_How is it you sing anything? How is it you sing?_

It was now or never, and she wouldn't be able to live with the second option.

When Persephone turned back around, she was sweet as maple syrup as she said, “I seem to recall you were interested in our refrigeration system to keep the fruit fresh, no?” 

That got his attention, like she knew it would. 

"Oh?"

“I could show you, but of course if it’s not that important and you’d rather stay and enjoy the music then by all means…”

_Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird, how is it you sing?_

“No! I mean...I’m interested,” he assured her with a wide smile that showed his teeth. He probably thought it was charming, and Persephone fought the urge to roll her eyes. She knew his type, they were all the same. Well, mostly the same. They couldn't all be murderers. “I’d love to see this grand secret of yours.”

 _Oh, you will_ , she thought ruefully, as she turned her back on the intimate concert with a small pang in her heart and led him to the back of the parlor, maneuvering through tables of patrons as she went. 

Zeus followed closely behind her, much too close for Persephone's liking, the sounds of the music still floating clearly in her ears.

_Whence comes this melody constantly flowing?_

"This way," she said, opening the side door behind her bar that Hades so often disappeared through. 

Her husband was much better at being invisible than her though, and Persephone kept her attention rapt as she surveyed the tables of patrons for any curious wandering eyes. It was as discreet as they could be in an open space like this one, but the guests were immersed in the concert at the moment and no one paid them any mind.

_Is it rejoicing or merely halloing?_

Persephone didn't look to confirm it, but she felt the comforting presence of Hades at her back a few paces behind and hopefully having the good sense to disguise himself as much as possible. She held the door open for Zeus to step through and then followed after him leaving it open just a crack.

The game was finally afoot.

"Isn't it a little dark in here?" Zeus asked as she motioned for the long grand staircase that led into the pit of seemingly complete darkness. 

It was the kind of place that Hades made her promise to avoid at all cost, even without knowing all that she knew this place had seen. It was a cellar, and there was no deceit in that they did keep all the ingredients downstairs, in the dark and the cold until they needed to be brought up to the kitchen for the sisters to work their magic on them. 

_Are you discussing or fussing or simply dreaming?_

It was just a bit different than how Zeus probably imagined it was all. Him being one of said ingredients, for starters. And no, there was definitely no steampunk fridge system to impress the likes of him, for Persephone had no need for anything of the sort. 

_Are you crowing? Are you screaming?_

He wouldn't live long enough to find all that out though, if things went her way.

"Oh, silly me, you are so right!" Persephone cackled in what sounded like an undoubtedly phony manner to her own ears, but she knew Zeus wouldn't pick up on the difference.

_Ringdove and robinet, is it for wages, singing to be sold?_

She flipped a switch that made the old lamp on the ceiling flicker to life somewhat, providing little brightness as she led the way and descended the steps leading into a hallway with a door that the merchant would not see the other side of while he was still alive. 

All the while, she kept Zeus talking, who seemed to ease up a little now that he could at least see his own feet, not that Persephone thought they were much to look at.

"I do admit, I'm getting excited now. You are one secretive lady, Miss Persephone!"

He edged closer to her at the base of the stairs and Persephone pushed down the urge to shove him violently away as he took another seemingly innocent step in her direction. 

_Have you decided it's safer in cages, singing when you're told?_

From the corner of her eye, she saw a towering shadow moving stealthily down the steps behind Zeus' back and Persephone stifled a sigh of relief as she gave the scumbag her most convincing smile yet.

"It's actually Mrs, as I'm sure you well know I'm a married woman."

Zeus bared his teeth in what he probably thought was an accurate imitation of her smile. In truth, they must have looked rather like two lions about to jump at each other's throats any second now.

_My cage has many rooms, damask and dark. Nothing there sings, not even my lark._

"That's what they all say," he had the nerve to speak as he reached out toward her middle, presumably to yank her to his side and then several things happened all at once.

_Larks never will, you know, when they're captive._

Persephone's breath caught in her throat, her eyes fixed on the man standing behind Zeus, his hand raised up high as he held something that looked suspiciously like a pan over his head, the metal shining in the darkness.

_Teach me to be more adaptive._

Zeus stood caught between husband and wife and was about to turn as they both definitely heard Hades gasp way too audibly behind them.

_Green finch and linnet bird, nightingale, blackbird, teach me how to sing._

The melody pouring in through the cracks from upstairs gathered tempo and seemed to crest as Eurydice hit a high note, making a sound that Persephone wasn't even sure she'd ever heard a human being make before.

_If I cannot fly, let me sing._

* * *

Hades barely registered the pan being snatched from his hands, he was too preoccupied with watching Zeus buckle in on himself after Persephone placed a ruthless kick to his groin, and then another two to each of his knees with the heel of her boots. 

The man let out a shrieking noise and lost his balance, clearly woefully unprepared for such an assault from so slight a woman. A moment later she followed it up with a blow to his head, the steel clanking against his skull in a most unkind manner, and Hades almost winced at the force of it.

And then it was over. 

His wife stood there with a bloody pan in her hands, panting slightly as she surveyed her work, her puffy breaths sending the flyaways from her hairdo up and around her face as the air left her lungs in small increments, her chest rising and falling to the beat of Hades’ rapid heartbeat.

"Persephone" was all he seemed capable of speaking for a while as he took her hands in his own slightly shaking ones. "Lover, are you alright?"

She certainly seemed to be. Persephone laughed, a full, rich sound, and burrowed her head under his chin for a moment before pulling back to look into his eyes. Her own were shining brightly, even in the dimly lit space, and she seemed to come alive with it, even as the deed was over and done with.

"Yes," she answered softly, though her expression remained almost horrendously joyful. 

Hades had never felt the kind of fear he did just moments ago when the man who now lay motionless at their feet raised his dirty hand to his wife, whatever his intentions may have been, and he still felt the residual adrenaline coursing through him from the encounter. 

All it seemed to do was make him shake with the aftershocks of it, as he tried to focus and get back to himself. Persephone, on the other hand, looked like a happy birthday kid who just stepped off her favourite ride at the carnival.

“Sorry to steal your thunder," she shrugged playfully, and Hades couldn't help but smile slightly at the face she made shortly after. “Well, no. I’m really not. That felt amazing.”

"It was also reckless, and you know it."

“Oh, come on," Persephone lowered her voice as she sidled up close to him and Hades felt any anger he might have felt evaporate as he took his wife into his arms. "I’m serious, lover.”

"So am I."

“You gotta let me do it more often," Persephone twisted his lapels between her fingers as she batted her eyelashes up at him. "Fifty-fifty."

"Not a chance. Twenty-eighty, tops."

"Forty-sixty."

"Fine."

"Thank you." Persephone pecked him on the lips and they smiled at one another.

Then, his wife seemed to remember the body lying on the floor. She turned to Hades with her eyebrows raised, hand on her hip.

"Now what are we gonna do about him?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this one was kind of a bitch to write, hence the delay. i hope y'all still like it though!


	5. epiphany

Days after his sudden disappearance, rumors started flying wildly about Zeus' involvement in the crimes in the neighborhood - as it so happens that they too have mysteriously stopped when the merchant disappeared. 

Soon enough, witnesses started coming forward; women who have been previously too terrified of retribution if they spoke out against him. And there were a surprising number of them too, all boiling in righteous anger now that their fear was no longer being fed by the perpetrator’s presence. 

It seemed that the town had cast its vote by popular demand on his guilt, proclaiming he was never to return again or he would face the people’s wrath who were practically ready to crucify him if given the opportunity. Little did they know that would not be necessary.

Meanwhile, in the pie shop in the heart of the neighborhood, business was better than ever and the Lady of the house declared happy hour in honor of her favorite couple and their very successful performance the other day.

Orpheus and Eurydice were leaving Londontown the next day, and that knowledge sat heavy between the people who have become somewhat of a family in the previous two weeks. Dwelling on the looming goodbye would not do them any good, however, and so Persephone decided to distract everyone by asking the poet to help her decorate the flower pots with the daisies he bought for her.

She was currently balancing on an old stepladder, trying to reach higher than was probably wise or possible to arrange the flowers while Orpheus held onto the ladder to keep her from falling down as she performed the surprisingly athletic feat. 

Or _tried_ _to_ , would be more accurate.

“She’s gonna fall,” Eurydice squeaked from behind the hands over her eyes. 

Even with her high heeled boots on, Persephone was just a tad too small to comfortably reach, which was painfully obvious to anyone watching. Even so, she refused to wait for Hades who had gone out back to receive a shipment of fruit, saying “I don’t need my husband’s help for something as simple as putting up flowers, chickpea.” 

Her stubbornness would have been endearing if it didn’t put all their lives in immediate danger if her husband found out about this, and Eurydice was too scared to even look properly as Persephone stood on her tiptoes on a single leg, the ladder creaking ominously as she did so. She turned her eyes on her lover instead, and almost lost it at the terrified expression on his face; Orpheus looked like he was gonna be sick, and Eurydice couldn’t exactly blame him. 

The ladder wobbled and Eurydice covered her eyes completely with a little shriek. Hades was absolutely going to kill them all.

Then...nothing.

“There, all done,” Persephone exclaimed with obvious pride in her voice as she pointed to the white flowers, neatly arranged and looking strikingly white against the steel blue backdrop. It certainly made a very pretty picture, but hardly enough to be worth dying for and Eurydice heaved a sigh of relief. “See, what did I tell ya? I don’t need no man to take care of my flowers.”

And then, just as Orpheus let go of the ladder for half a second that turned out to be half a second too long, the whole contraption trembled again and the next thing Eurydice knew, Hades was suddenly standing there with a blushing Persephone held securely in his arms, while the ladder clattered onto the ground behind them.

“You were saying?” The man rumbled with only a hint of amusement in his tone as he looked at his wife sternly, daring her to feel admonished at least, Eurydice suspected. 

Slim chance of that, knowing the Lady in question, but Hades had every right to try. He made no move to let her back on her feet though and Persephone wound her arms around his neck, quickly finding her wits again after her near fall.

“I’d say you win, lover, but it seems to me like a draw-type situation,” she leaned up to kiss him, probably already forgetting they had an audience. Eurydice was used to their frequent displays by now, no matter how much it had startled her in the beginning. Now, she was almost thinking she would miss these moments. 

_Almost._ Eurydice gave them a couple seconds before clearing her throat rather loudly as a reminder of her ever-persisting presence. 

Hades didn’t say a thing but kept his eyes on his wife as Persephone pouted at the intrusion, and Orpheus chuckled behind them, equal parts amused and embarrassed at the intimate tableau they made.

And all was right with the world again.

* * *

After the ladder incident, Hades insisted that the two men finish decorating instead, and he wouldn’t hear a word more about it as he took the basket of remaining daisies with a “Young man!” thrown over his shoulder. Orpheus scurried after him without a second thought, of course, and Persephone turned to her companion with a tired but affectionate roll of her eyes. “Shall we?”

They settled onto two barstools and were soon nursing their respective drinks, only occasionally chuckling at the picture their husbands made. 

Persephone always liked to watch him work, there was just something about a man who knew how to handle his tools that set her blood singing in a very pleasant sort of way. But then again, that may just be Hades doing it for her as he always had, it was hard to say.

She shook her head and directed her attention to the young girl next to her.

"You never told me what you do, my pretty," Persephone broached the subject that she’d been meaning to ask about before. She had wondered, especially with the way she now knew Eurydice could sing. But then, they’d talked about that before, and the girl never mentioned anything serious, so the question remained. "Don't think I didn't notice, and you’re leaving tomorrow, so you might as well tell me."

Persephone had a couple more guesses, but what Eurydice said next was definitely not one of them, and she nearly spit out her drink when the answer was, "I'm a detective."

"A detec- a detective, huh?" She swallowed and hoped it wasn't as loud as the sound in her own ears. Was it always this noisy in there or was she suddenly going deaf? Possibly both. Interesting that that would happen right this second though when she still needed to hold a conversation. With her friend, the pretty songbird that she'd become so fond of and let into her life and her parlor to roam around as she likes...who was apparently a detective. Right. "I mean, wow. Impressive," Persephone choked, with considerable effort. 

_Very smooth._

"In the private sector. I prefer to stay away from the official channels,” Eurydice said casually, almost as an afterthought. She even leaned back in her seat a little, and Persephone felt like those dark eyes were staring right into her soul as she did so. “Too much fuss."

"Amen, sister. I agree."

"I _know,_ " Eurydice said, putting a strange emphasis on the words and Persephone felt her breathing pick up. She had a sudden urge to have Hades at her side, though she didn't yet know why she felt threatened. This conversation was quickly turning into one of the most stressful times of her life, and she feared she might even go gray by the end of it. "I know what you and your husband are doing here. What you did."

"Y-you _do_?"

Well, at least now it was on the table. Nevermind that Persephone would rather flip the table and hightail it out of the entire place just to escape this goddamn conversation. She briefly wondered how far she could make it on foot by herself. Probably not that far. 

And Hades wasn’t a runner anyway, so it was a moot point because even a plan to run for her life was completely implausible in Persephone’s mind if it didn’t involve her husband. Which probably wasn’t very practical for an escape plan, but she’d gladly die by Hades’ side if the alternative was living without him, in this life or any other.

"I mean, I get it. And your secret is safe with me." The girl was talking to her again, or rather saying words, but it made no sense to Persephone whatsoever. She stared back at the songbird dumbly, but at least had the good grace to stay silent this time. "Sometimes I wish I could just beat the shit out of someone too, until they came to their right minds, however long that takes." 

Oh. _Oh._

 _She doesn't know_ , Persephone realized with some sudden and much needed clarity. _But she thinks she does._

“Don't worry, I won't rat you and the old man out,” Eurydice continued, and Persephone almost smiled at that, despite the vast emotional turmoil she’d just silently experienced. “Not my place to say if what you're doing is wrong. And it worked, right? You ran him out of town, didn't you?” 

Oh _lord_.

“And who knows, after what your husband did to him maybe he will think twice before he ever touches a single hair on a girl's head ever again!”

Persephone bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't know if it was to stop a laugh or cry, but she certainly didn't want to give the wrong impression in that moment. 

Thinking or touching anyone ever again was certainly not something Zeus would ever get to do again, and Persephone knew she wouldn't have been content had she not known that with absolute certainty. That was her cross to bear, and dying for it was his. 

But this conversation definitely just added five years and an oncoming migraine to Persephone’s life, and _that_ hardly seemed fair.

“So...will you make us another round?”

“Hell yeah, my pretty.”

By the time Hades and Orpheus finished with the flowers, the conversation turned to much lighter topics, and Persephone almost forgot how uncomfortable she’d felt not ten minutes ago. 

She would tell Hades about all of that later if only to see the face on him when she told him what the songbird’s day job was. Persephone chuckled to herself at the mental image. The smile soon turned downwards when she saw the sheepish look the poet shared with his fiancé.

She knew that look. They were gearing up to say goodbye.

“Leaving so soon?”

“Still got some packing to do before we leave tomorrow morning,” Eurydice said quietly, not meeting Persephone’s eyes for the first time. “We thought it best to leave early.”

Persephone felt the sudden stinging of tears but barreled through in every sense of the word as she slammed into Eurydice and hugged the girl close to her chest for dear life.

"You write to me, you understand? I won't have you two become strangers now." She smoothed the hair away from the girl's face to look at her proper. "Promise me?"

"I promise," the chickpea sniffed and Persephone couldn't help but draw her close again as Hades clapped Orpheus on the back and murmured something to the young man under his breath that Persephone couldn't hear.

"Come here you," she turned to Orpheus. "Now I better find those invitations in the mail sooner rather than later. You gotta make an honest woman out of this girl, ya hear me boy?"

"Yes, ma'am. I will," the poet smiled. "And yours will be the first two letters we send out."

"Better be," Persephone croaked, getting emotional in spite of herself. 

She promised herself she would not cry, but there was no way she could help blinking a few tears away at those sweet words. Persephone kissed both of the young lovers on the cheek one more time before stepping back to stand with Hades. She smiled when she felt his hand, already outstretched to hold hers when she reached for him.

It was in moments like these, despite the still lingering sadness in the air, Persephone knew with absolute certainty that things would be alright.

* * *

Mr. Hermes stood in the doorway of his old shop, waving at the young couple as they bid a brief goodbye to him as well from the other side of the street, before finally going on what he assumed was a long road ahead of the two lovers.

He hoped the sea would be gentle on them, much as she ever was to anyone and they wouldn't have to suffer her whims on their travels. But most of all, he wished for them to have faith in each other and in themselves, even in the absence of fair skies or a kind road below, for that, Mr. Hermes had learned, was the most important virtue of all.

It was a peculiar thing, but he had become somewhat attached to the young lovers who passed through his shop on more than one occasion. 

Orpheus came by a couple times on his own, and the two men talked about Mr. Hermes' inventions, music and marriage, and once about the looming threat in the neighborhood. 

It was hard not to like the boy, and Mr. Hermes didn't have a reason to try too hard anyway. He even ended up teaching the poet a couple tricks on his guitar, something he had learned a long time ago, and the boy thanked him by playing some of his songs.

Eurydice only visited him once more, only a day ago, bringing him a watch the girl said she wasn't comfortable keeping, and she offered Mr. Hermes the parts in exchange for fixing her daddy's old watch one more time before the couple went on their way. 

Now, this one was decidedly more quiet, never offering mindless conversation just for the sake of filling the silence, and Mr. Hermes didn't mind that terribly either, but it didn't bring him any closer to finding out more about the raven-haired young woman.

However, looking at the man and woman in each other's arms, dressed in matching elegant black attires, still standing there across the street and looking intently in the direction the young couple left long after they've disappeared from view, not unlike fresh parents would watch their children leave on their very first day of school, Mr. Hermes had a feeling that this was not the last his street has seen of young Orpheus and Eurydice.

The three shop owners stayed that way for a while, with the Lady Persephone burrowed into her husband's arms who stood like a pillar of strength over the both of them, and Mr. Hermes content to simply observe the scene from his hideout as he listened to the comings and goings on the street between them.

Finally, the bell of the parlor rang as a customer entered the shop, and the Lady pulled away from her husband slowly, discreetly wiping at her eyes before she headed back inside to greet the newcomer, pulling her man after her by their still joined hands. 

Mr. Hermes smiled, remembering the one thing Eurydice did impart upon him during her visit the day before, just as she was stepping out the door of his shop.

"Mr. Hermes, you really ought to go and try those famous pies, seeing as it's literally just across the street," she'd said, praising the owner in particular with a fondness that can't have been anything but sincere coming from her. "Trust me, you won't regret it."

So be it. Maybe she was right, maybe not, but it was time Mr. Hermes found out what all the fuss was about. He'd go, really go and visit this time.

After all, what's the worst thing that could happen, eh?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there you have it! i hope you enjoyed, please leave me a comment below or come find me on tumblr :)


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